


Brain Surgery

by fitzjosie



Series: fitzjosie’s Littleverse [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Brain Surgery, Friendship, Head Shaving, Littles Are Known, Medical Procedures, Multi, Non-Sexual Age Play
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 01:37:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19263352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fitzjosie/pseuds/fitzjosie
Summary: Hope gets major surgery and deals with the recovery. Ava is a worried mommy. Hope also meets new friends along the way at the hospital.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is part 2 of my littleverse, this one is set in the hospital where Ava works. There’s a good helping of whump and angst, plus some family fluff, friendship making and guest appearances.  
> Hope you enjoy and please leave kudos/ comments it would mean a lot.

Hope’s seizures had only been getting worse lately, and they were running out of options. It scared Scott and Ava to see her like this. Even though they were both in the medical profession and had access to all the important items to monitor and diagnose her, seizures were still a scary thing. She had been in a wheelchair for a while now and had been on many different meds that weren’t working. They had decided after weighing up all the options that surgery was needed to give Hope the best chance at becoming seizure free or at least reduce them. Thankfully, mommy could carry it out and daddy could be there to wait for her afterwards.

Daddy currently had Hope in the bath, taking a pre surgery soak. He dried her off with a big fluffy towel and then sat her on the chair in front of the mirror.

"Now, Hopie. I need you to listen to daddy okay?" He said and she nodded to show she was going to listen to him.

"This is a big surgery for you. It might be a little scary even though you've had lots of surgeries before. It's going to take longer than normal and you'll be in hospital after for longer as well"  
He didnt want to scare her of course but she deserved to know the scale of this so that she could feel prepared. It was not a decision they had taken lightly in order to give her this surgery.

"I'll be ok daddy, I'm super brave!"  
For her part, Hope took it all in her stride which was perfect for them as she had multiple health concerns and was in and out of the hospital on a semi-regular basis for appointments and check ups and various surgeries.

"That's my girl, im so proud of you" he told her and kissed the top of her head.   
She seemed to think on something for a moment and Scott gave her time, wondering what her question would be.

"If they gotta cut my brain, will I lose my hair?" Hope asked. Thankfully it was only shoulder length recently as she had gotten bored of it being long. Scott kissed her cheek, trust his smart girl to be so perceptive though he had been wondering how he was going to bring up that part.

"Yes baby, during prep tomorrow morning mommy will have to shave your head. I know that might be a little scary especially as this time it's not your choice but you have always been a very good girl about it"

"I might be a little sad, but I do like being a fuzzy head!" Hope giggled, pausing a moment before asking a new question

"Will I get to see the inside of my brain and the squishy bits?"   
She asked and daddy couldnt help but laugh at his little girl.

"No baby, you'll be fast asleep by that point" he said, draining the tub he picked her up and carried her into her bedroom where mommy was waiting. He went to put her down on her bed.

"One nice clean girl all ready for tomorrow now" he told Ava. Hope was quite sleepy as they tucked her in between them. Ava ran a hand through the girls hair.

"We've talked about what mommy needs to do. That Hopie will lose her hair temporarily but she seems okay with that. She just wanted to know if she could squish her brain" Scott told Ava and she laughed a little at her silly girls antics.

"Maybe mommy will get you a little fake squishy brain to play with after surgery" Ava said to her sleepy baby and smiled when Hope grinned at this, reaching up to kiss her mommy on the cheek as they said their goodnights.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning came and they were soon at the hospital. Hope was dropped off to play in the area made for littles before they were going in for surgery. She wheeled herself up to the table and smiled at the others already sat around it 

"Hi, I'm hope" she greeted, sticking her hand out as that's what mommy said polite girls did when they met someone. The other three around the table, two girls and   
a boy, shook her hand and smiled at her.

"I'm daisy" a small girl with hair about the length of Hope's but much more wavy said "I'm here cos I hurt my arm"

Hope then noticed the girl was coloring with one hand as the other was strapped up in a sling.

"I'm Natasha" the other girl then introduced herself, and Hope could see the feeding tube fed through her nose and stuck on to the side of her cheek "I get a lot of tummy issues, and it's why I have tubie" the redhead gently tapped the nasal tube to illustrate her point.

"Oh, and this is Clint" Natasha introduced the boy sat next to her who greeted Hope with what she recognised was sign language.

"Hes deaf, but hes just here to stay with me until I have to go. They let him be here so that I dont get all angry and start smashing things up" natasha said it in such a way that it wasnt a big deal but Hope could tell the girl was clearly trying to mask her fear with aggression. Still, mommy told her not to let her big selfs day job run into her  
little time.

"I get a lot of tummy issues too. But today I'm here cos I gotta get surgery on my brain" Hope said, watching as Natasha translated her words into sign for Clint.

"Woah that's cool!" Daisy said and Hope giggled.

"I mean, I gotta lose my hair but I'm hoping I get to poke my brain. It would be like a slimey squishy" 

"I'm sorry about your hair" Natasha translated for Clint and Hope waved it off

"Its okay, I've had to do it before. My mommy is a doctor, daddy helps out too but he fixes teeth most of the time" Hope explained 

"Oh, what's your last name? We spend enough time here between us that we probably know her" Natasha said 

"Starr" Hope replied and Clint nodded his head

"Yes we know Dr Starr, shes nice. Shes talked before about her own little, she really loves you" 

Hope felt some pride swell in her chest at that, she loved being a good girl for her mommy and to know the woman was so proud of her that she would tell others made her really happy.

The four of them coloured for a little while longer until a nurse with long blonde hair and wearing some pale blue scrubs showed up.

"Hope Starr?" She called out and Hope stuck up her hand, nodding

"Ah yes, hello sweetheart. They're ready for you now" she said, crouching down to say hello to the others.

"Nurse Sharon, are you gonna look after me as well?" Daisy asked and the woman shook her head no.

"Sorry Daisy, I'm looking after Hope today. Her surgery is quite long so they need me in there. But dont worry, I think you're with Doctor Morse anyway"

Daisy smiled at this, and the girl contently went back to her drawing. They all said their goodbyes as Sharon walked behind her and took the handles of her chair, leading her towards the surgery room.

Mommy was sat in there waiting for her but Hope knew that she was currently in serious mode and that she had to act properly.

"Right then, let's get this one prepped first" mommy said and Sharon took her into the side room. The woman got her changed into a hospital gown and then sat her down on a normal chair in the little room. She waited patiently for mommy, who soon walked in and was busy setting up her tools but gave Hope a small wave which made her giggle.

"Now, we talked about what needs to happen first" Ava said and Hope nodded. She felt a little bit sad to lose her hair but at least she had already cut it from the ponytail length and also this was all for her own good at the end of the day. Sharon put a small black cape around her shoulders to stop her gown from getting dirty. Mommy plugged in the clippers and turned on the switch. She stood behind Hope.

"Okay Hopie, keep nice and still for me yeah? This wont take me too long and then we can get going with the rest of prep"

Hope stayed still in her seat, hearing the noise of the clippers whirring to life she did her best not to squirm at the first few passes of the cold metal object over her head. Mommy worked quickly but thoroughly, needing a flat even surface for the surgery. She watched as clumps of hair began to fall from her head, almost like it was raining hair which made her giggle internally.  
She grew a tiny bit restless whilst mommy was cleaning up the sides and sharon put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Nearly done now, you're doing really well" she reassured and sure enough after another minute or so, mommy turned off the clippers and flipped off the switch. 

"All done" she stated "And just as beautiful as ever baby girl"

She was transferred back into her wheelchair to travel into the main surgery room and mommy lifted her up on the operating table, getting one of the nurse to take her chair to daddy who was in the waiting room. He would then take it up to her room once she had been assigned one.

"So you know what this surgery is, baby?" Mommy said

"You gotta unzip my brain"

"That's right, we have to open up your head and get rid of the nasty part that is causing your seizures to happen"

The anaesthetist walked over and Hope tried her best not to tense up, everyone was in their surgical gear now and she was a little bit scared. Sharon had put the heart monitor stickers on her chest and also fixed an oxygen mask over her face.

"Now then Hope, you'll feel a small pain in your arm and then you'll be fast asleep until the surgery is over" the anaesthetist told her. He got a syringe and Sharon cleaned an area at the top of her arm. He injected the medicine in and told Hope to count to 10. She only got to 7 before sleep washed over her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter introduces Melinda and Jemma! Melinda is the big for Jemma and for Leo who’ll get introduced in a later chapter or perhaps a standalone. I haven’t quite decided where this is going yet, depends if people actually want to read this series too as I’m getting to the end of my pre-written stuff from the other night.
> 
> For those that are reading, thank you it means a lot and I would love to see your comments.

The surgery took 6 long hours and by the end, Ava was feeling completely exhausted. They couldnt tell for sure until Hope came round from the anesthesia but they had done a brain scan and it looked that the surgery had been successful. She just hoped that now Hope's seizures would stop or at least rapidly decrease.

Hope was lying in a hospital bed on the high dependency ward, wired up to so many different machines and tubes and all sorts. Even though she knew what they were and why they were needed, it still unnerved Ava to see her little girl in that state. 

Scott had told her to just go for a stroll to clear her mind though she wanted to see Hope first and know that the girl had survived with her own eyes. She heard crying coming from a corner of the corridor as she walked onto the long term patients ward. A small figure with brunette hair was curled up in the corner, at least best she could with a bright pink brace on each leg.

"Are you okay sweetheart?" Ava asked in her softest caregiver voice, crouching down beside the girl who looked up at her. The little one didnt talk and simply sniffled a few times.

"Are you lost little one? Do you have a room on the ward or are you just visiting?" It was wrong to assume though she guessed the girl was a patient by the braces and her general look.

"Is scary" the little one finally responded, and Ava reached to tuck some strands of brunette hair behind her ear.

"Aww sweetie, it's okay. Did they have to do something scary to you or was it just something more general?" She wondered if she should push for more info when Dr May spotted them and rushed on over.

"Ah Dr Starr, you found Jemma. Thank you"

Ava stood up and the little one clung to her leg. She looked to May for permission, knowing Jemma was the womans little before picking her up.

"Yes she was crying in the corridor, she’s scared. I was just hoping to comfort her"

"Thank you, you've done a good job. After her accident, Jemma is still having a lot of nightmares. She cant get far with her legs, but she has a tendency to bolt"

Ava wasnt fully sure of the details, but most knew her and her brother Leo had escaped almost certain death at the hands of their abusive father. He had tried to drown Leo in their bathtub and then attacked Jemma when she attempted to save her brother. The boy had been left with brain damage, Jemma had nerve damage to her spinal cord.

Ava gently swayed from side to side, stroking Jemma’s hair as she softly comforted her. It felt a bit strange to be comforting a colleagues little in front of them, though she was used to comforting her patients and generally had a knack for caregiving.

“You’re great with the little ones” May told her and smiled gently, Jemma was almost fully calm again now

“My little girl has nightmares too, they’re so icky right?” She directed the second part to Jemma nodded against her chest. The brunette spotted her own mommy and tried to grab at her.

“Careful sweetheart, I’ll pass you over to your mommy” Ava said and they carefully transferring Jemma from her arms into Melinda’s waiting embrace.

 

Ava strolled back up to the ward and headed for Hopes room. The girl would actually be moved down onto the long term ward once she was stable and no longer high dependant since she would need to spend about 6 weeks in the hospital after her major surgery. Thankfully, the long term ward was very nice and generally Hope was okay being in hospital though she had never been in for so long before.

Ava walked through and smiled at Scott, taking a seat beside him. Her head went to rest on his shoulder as she breathed out heavily, looking over the sight of a still-unconscious Hope. It hurt to see her tiny girl covered in wires and with a breathing tube shoved down her throat. The monitors beeped in a steady rhythm and right now that was all which kept Ava’s own heart from beating too fast in anxiety and worry.

“She’s been okay, everything’s stable” Scott reassured her “Far as they can tell nothing went wrong. She’s going to be fine Aves”

“I still worry if we did the right thing” Ava said shakily “It’s already going to be her longest in-hospital recovery to date. And if it didn’t work or she needed extra, well we’ve doomed her to even longer away from doing everything she loves”

“We made the best decision that we could for our baby girl. Without the surgery, she would’ve been in a lot more pain in the long run, not to mention the distress of seizures and the impact they were having on her life” Scott reassured her, kissing her gently “You’re a good mom, Aves. I promise. It’s time you start believing that”

They sat together for a while, hands intertwined, watching over their little one and waiting for her time to wake up.


End file.
